The Potez P.630 and P.631 are sibling heavy fighter designs, developed in the mid 1930s for the French military. At the outbreak of WW2, this aircraft, along with several others, formed the backbone of the French air force at the time. Coming with Update 1.73, the Potez P.631 will strive to take up this vital role once again with the introduction of the much anticipated French nation to War Thunder!

Development of the Potez P.630 and its variants began in the mid 1930s, after the French Ministry of Air issued specific requirements for the development of a new heavy fighter for the French air force. Specifically, the Ministry was looking for an aircraft that could both be used during day and night time operations, as well as being able to effectively conduct escort missions, whilst possessing good combat endurance, speed and armament. Several French aircraft manufacturers answered the call, Potez being one of them. The Potez company developed two, nigh identical, aircraft that followed the specifications closely - namely, the Potez P.630 and P.631. As previously mentioned, both aircraft shared the same design concept, differing only in the powerplant choice as well as some other minor design features. The P.630 was equipped with Hispano-Suiza 14A engines, whilst the P.631 received a pair of Gnome-Rhône 14M engines. The Gnome-Rhône engines, whilst being inferior in power output to the Hispano-Suizas, were at the same time, smaller, lighter, and more reliable. However, as the Hispano-Suiza engine was readily available, it was decided that the first prototype (P.630-01) would be equipped with a pair of those engines. Work on this initial prototype began in April 1935, with the maiden flight taking place on 25 April 1936.





Be on the lookout for the Potez P.631 on the starting ranks of the brand new French aviation research tree coming to War Thunder with the upcoming update 1.73. Stay tuned to the news to find out what’s still in store for War Thunder’s next major update. Until then!

For more information, read the full Dev Blog article on the Official War Thunder Forums!